


An Arc's Lament

by ForceCommanderJoe (orphan_account)



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25962475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/ForceCommanderJoe
Summary: Being Jaune Arc is suffering. For all his accomplishments, dude can't catch a break. The following 72 hours are an example of that.
Relationships: Saphron Cotta-Arc/Terra Cotta-Arc
Comments: 7
Kudos: 13





	1. Paperasserie pas si rapide

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who's back? Guess who's back?
> 
> Yes, I have returned to writing fanfiction! Sorta. As for how far it will go, we shall see. With that being said, I hope y'all like what I have on offer. Comments and critiques are appreciated as always. Let's roll.

Yeah, Jaune Arc wasn’t having a very good day.

Apart from having to pay his overdue bills for his apartment in Argus, here he sat listening to a lecture between Sanctum Academy’s headmaster and the Atlesian grant committee, who had the honors of deciding which veteran Huntsmen were/weren’t viable for working as subs or general faculty at the combat school.

“I’ve got orders from the Governor herself, Sandy. Surely you would understand that.” Director Brandt told Sandra Czerwony, Sanctum’s headmistress.

“I just got off the phone and she said we were clear for another cycle!” Czerwony barked, flaring her nostrils as a boar Faunus. “What have you done today, Brandt?” She sneered.

“Well, the President just authorized a cutback on slime-based lunches with my approval, so you should be thanking me for keeping tabs on your students’ nutrition as well.” Brandt scoffed.

Czerwony grinded her teeth, minding her boar tusks and noticing Jaune in the corner who allowed them to continue.

“If you really insist we get Mister Arc’s opinion, I’m all for it.” He said, gesturing the paladin to speak.

“Well, uh…” Jaune stammered. “Sir. This has gotta be a miscommunication.” He spoke.

“I’m afraid not, Mister Arc.” The grant director spoke, shaking his head. “Governor Berkley is cutting funding for the sake of preserving the economy and not “break the bank” as some of you so put it.” He said.

“Oh. So she was bullshitting me earlier?” Czerwony asked.

“That would imply that she’s cutting back on your Huntsmen faculty for her own amusement, Sandy. Which could be farther from the truth.” He haughtily explained.

“Yeah, right.” She snorted.

It was Jaune’s turn to give Brandt a death glare, standing at his height. “Director.” Jaune began. “Whether or not you or the Governor trusts Sandy to run Sanctum well, she’s done more than enough to keep it standing with or without the governor’s stamp of approval. However many Huntsmen are getting their hours cut, it’d be a disservice to leave them in the mud like this when we risk our lives just making our way back here to teach kids. I know the names of every kid who want to fight and protect our world. And whatever you’re saying, say it with some dignity if you value what I have to say.”

Jaune huffed, seeing Brandt nodding and typing on his Scroll before picking up his suitcase.

“Then it’s clear our ideologies do not align, Mister Arc. You and Miss Czerwony have a safe and pleasant day.” He said, walking out with his fellow suits. “I’ll see you later, Sandy.” He said, smirking.

The boar spat, just landing the glob of saliva on Brandt’s pant leg.

“I sure fucking hope not.” She growled.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Jaune sighed, walking out of Sanctum for what seemed like the last time. Because he was included in the list of teachers to have their hours cut. He’s met spiteful bureaucrats before, but this Brandt asshole really took the cake. Oh sure, Gods forbid people like him would be stood up by someone…Nice! How could anyone work in the private sector with such haughtiness? They were as stubborn as a mule!

Jaune looked up, checking his Scroll for crime alerts in the hopes that busting some heads would help take his mind off of all the red tape. Looking into incident reports relayed from the emergency dispatch center to his Scroll (a standard for local Huntsmen), he saw reports of a fire at a sports bar, breaking-and-entering at a jewelry shop. All resolved, but it probably didn't hurt to double check. 

Jaune curiously looked up, placing a waypoint on his Scroll’s GPS and started jogging towards the B&E crime scene first. On his way there, he was dialed by Czerwony. 

“Answer.” He told his Scroll assistant.

“ **Hey, how are you feelin’ right now?** ” She spoke in an unusually soft tone.

“I’m fine.” Jaune quickly answered.

“ **The hell you are, I ended up dragging you into the meeting and made you look like a sodding idiot.** ” She ranted.

“I’m okay, Sandy. Really.” He assured. “I’m used to having to find spare work on the mission boards, so I’ll figure out a way. I always do.”

“ **Didn’t want it to come to this, Jaune.** ” She snorted. “ **But I’m taking full responsibility right now, and I’ll find a way to compensate you, whether you like it or not. Maybe we should get lunch?** ” She offered.

“That sounds great, but I’m heading to a crime scene and meeting my sister later.” He said, panting.

“ **Sure.** ” She said, quickly hanging up.

Having gotten past Sandy’s terse nature, he could hopefully make time to talk to his sister Saphron about a planned dinner with their parents. Ever since he and his friends pulled the plug on Salem’s reign of terror, Jaune has since moved to Argus to be closer with his family. 

He lived just down the street from Saphron, Terra and Adrian, and came to help out and visit in between missions. Jaune’s father, Oliver Arc, has always had a distant relationship with his only son. Having 7 daughters was a lot of work for Oliver and his wife of 30 years, Daisy. Doubly so when being the only boy amidst a legion of girls. 

Being one of the middle children, Jaune did often compete with his older sisters Saphron, Violet, the twins Ciel and Pluie. His younger sisters, Sapphire, Garnet, and Parsley were always neck-and-neck with Jaune in competing for mom and dad’s approval and affection. Something that Daisy insisted was moot since she loved her kids equally.

The thought would have to wait however, as he finally met up with the Military Police on scene at the B&E.

“Nice of you to drop by, Jaune.” The Sergeant said. “Again.” He added after pausing.

The paladin raised an eyebrow before clearing his throat.

“I was kinda caught up with stuff at Sanctum. What’s the sitch?”

“I’m gonna assume you hit your head or something. Because you dropped by to stop a jewel robbery earlier and just bolted.” The Sergeant reported.

“I did?” He said, blinking as he caught on. “Uh I mean, yeah-yeah! Can I go see Mr. Kwok?” Jaune requested.

He nodded, opening the coveted POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS bands and letting Jaune to speak with the owner, desperately sweeping up the destroyed glass of his display case.

“Hey, Jaune! Over here!” Mr. Kwok waved.

“Were you hurt?” He asked.

“No, no.” Kwok said with a chuckle. “You came by and stopped the robbers, but on your way out I heard you saved my daughter from getting mugged.”

“Uh, when did this happen?” Jaune interrogated.

“Just now on 29th and Russel. Busy guy like you, you probably get lost in the moment with how many people you save in one day.” Kwok mused.

“Right, just had to deal with some stuff at the Academy.” Jaune explained for what seemed like the umpteenth time already today.

 _I came by here and then saved Hana?_ He thought. _No way I can cover this much ground, better go see what’s up._

“I know that studies at Sanctum are picking up, just wanted to thank you for saving us both.” Kwok said.

Jaune nodded, saying his farewells to him and taking a trolley to 29th and Russel.


	2. Double Fonctionnalité

The trolley halted from Jaune ringing the bell, where he saw another police cordon with Hana Kwok standing at theater doors, two AK-130s guarding the area. Jaune walked over, checking a pulse for the muggers.

 _Well, they’re alive. That’s promising._ He thought.

“NOTHING TO REPORT.” One of the Knights warbled. Jaune ignored the bot, walking over to Hana.

“You’re back so soon? I thought you were going to check out a fire.” Hana said.

“Right, got a little mixed up. Where’s it at again?” He asked, playing dumb and hiding his Scroll.

“Uh, it’s 32 Marin Avenue.” She clarified.

“Thanks, Hana. Be more careful, okay?” He said, summoning an automated car with his Huntsman ID and inputting the coordinates of the fire.

 _Okay, so somebody’s impersonating me._ Jaune pondered, cupping his chin. _Gotta be enough to fool the droids, but faux Jaune Arc is being a lot more slippery. He pondered._

OG Jaune noticed that the Kwoks had their display case shattered, too. Maybe this guy had a shield? No one could make an exact replica of Crocea Mors, you’d need a 3D printer with ultra high-def imaging for that.

The muggers were unarmed. Maybe the bots had took any potential weapons in for evidence. No major bruises or lacerations on them, which also could’ve taken the shield out of question.

_So I’ve had my hours cut and I gotta deal with an impersonator. Beats wallowing in one of my moods all day._

Before Jaune could get back to his deduction, he saw he was comping up on the fire brigade. Pressing the stop button, the auto-car halted. Jaune jumped out and noticed the fire already put out. He looked around seeing a woman who recognized Jaune and waved him over.

“Excuse me, Jaune?” The civilian asked.

“Yeah?” He replied.

“Just wanted to thank you for saving my boyfriend. He was snarled up under a beam, but he’s alive.” The civilian explained.

“No problem. Smoke kinda got to me and I had to catch my breath for a bit.” He fibbed. “Where did you last see me?” He asked.

“I think you were gonna head up to the 4th floor, check for anything else.” She answered.

Jaune nodded, looking upstairs to see the smoke still clearing out. He scaled his way up the fire escape, covering his mouth and looking inside. The kitchen was smoldering, but intact. The TV had a melting gape in it, with a conclusion that this was an electrical fire. The knight pondered as to how quick his impersonator was being, since Jaune was more of a tank than runner. 

When he peaked in, grabbing a mask he kneeled down for footprints.

 _Not even close to my shoe size._ He thought, squinting at a shoe print. _I’m a size ten, fake me is a size six, so he’s gotta be smaller than me. Wouldn’t anyone notice this though?_

Jaune then checked the door to the flat, seeing it blown out. The upper half had another gape, this one probably being punched open. Balling his plated fist and swinging it through the door to imagine his mimic’s movements, he saw that this must’ve been a near-perfect copy of his actions in the event of a fire. Right, so the fake Jaune must’ve had an identical build, minus the size of this guy’s feet. The real Jaune probably would’ve used his shield to bash a way out of a fire, so there was no way this one had a shield.

But it didn’t add up.

Running into the fire, check. Blowing his way out, check. Any idiot would’ve known that Crocea Mors followed wherever he went. A Huntsman can easily improvise without his weapon. Jaune looked out the window, down to the street where he saw a firefighter call out to him.

“Yo, Jaune! You see a fire extinguisher up there?!” The fireman asked.

“Uh, yeah! I was just coming back to check!” He replied.

“Well, hurry up before we get an audit from the office!” The fireman insisted. “We’ve got the Chief down here, and she wanted to speak to you!”

Jaune gave a thumbs up, about to head out looking for the extinguisher until he heard his Scroll ring. _From Shadows_ played on his ringtone, answering the phone to hear Blake’s voice.

“Hi, Blake. Can I call you back?” He asked.

“ **Bad time?** ” His Faunus friend asked.

“Kinda. I’m in the middle of checking out a crime scene, what’s up?” He replied.

“ **Well, I’ve been at home with Alex who’s had the croup all week.** ” Blake answered, sounding weary from her daughter’s illness. “ **Sun was wondering if you had time to give input on the next congressional team leader meeting.** ” She requested.

Jaune cringed, putting her on speaker while he headed downstairs to search for the damned extinguisher.

“Soon as I settle in and get some shut-eye, sure.” He answered.

“ **Great. I was just curious since he’s out on patrol and I’m stuck here with our sick kitten.** ” Blake sighed.

“Right, give Alex my best.” He quickly said, going downstairs. “Not like I can be of much help on that front.” He moaned.

“ **Hey, are you alright?** ” Blake inquired, cocking an ear on the other line. “ **You sound more pissy than usual. Not a good sign when I have to point it out.** ” She recalled.

“…Sanctum had some of it’s funding pulled, and Professor Czerwony had to do some downsizing. Then I stood up for her at the grant committee’s director, I ended up on Brandt’s shit-list, so he included me on the chopping block.” He explained.

Blake gasped.

“ **Jaune!** ” She exclaimed. “ **I’m so sorry, what are you gonna do now?** ”

Jaune shrugged.

“For now, I’m just gonna get stuff from the mission boards. Save it up and probably use it to get a temporary job at another Combat School.” He suggested.

“ **That might take a while. My parents are looking to auction off a houseboat, and I can pencil you in if you need a place to stay.** ” She offered.

“I’ll be fine, Blake. I just need to clear my head and get ready for a family visit.” He waved off.

“ **If you say so.** ” She said. “ **Well, I need to go be a good mom. But tell Terra that I said hi.** ” Blake requested, still thankful for Terra’s baby advice when she was pregnant.

“I will, Blake. See ya.” He said.

“ **Great. Bye!** ” Blake said, hanging up.

Jaune resumed his trek looking for the extinguisher, heading down the elevator and being greeted by Fire Chief Meadows.

“For a Huntsman, you sure are thicker than your armor lets on.” Meadows joked, holding out her right hand.

“Don’t I know it, Chief.” Jaune said, accepting the handshake. “Was I here earlier?” He asked.

“If by ‘you’ you’re implying some schmuck who’s trying to dress like you and do your job on the homefront, then yes.” Meadows pointed out, handing a fire droid the extinguisher to take it back to the ladder crew. “How long have you been searching?” She inquired.

“Since about noon. Got the word from a jewel shop owner that I saved him and his kid off of 29th and Russell, then down the street in the same time window.” He explained. Meadows shook her head.

“If you wanna catch your cosplayer, last I heard over the scanner he was gonna stop a Dust deal at a construction site on Napoleon Square. Might wanna catch him in the act if you’ve got time.” She relayed.

“Already there, thanks Chief.” He said, hailing another automated car.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Lay off, man! I told you everything!” A thug barked at the real Jaune, handcuffed to a lamp post.

“Uh-huh. Just stay out of trouble.” He scoffed, running off towards the construction site and seeing something he only saw at conventions: A guy cosplaying as him, warrior wolf tail and all explaining his actions towards a couple of civilians outside of the site.

Either Argus citizens were really impressionable or decided to humor counterfeit Jaune with all the slow news going around the city lately. Now it was up to the OG knight to take him in without seeming like a party pooper, easier said than done.

“Excuse me, citizens.” The impersonator said triumphantly. “I must handle this crime by myself, stand back.” He warned.

The double had a similar head of hair to the real guy, also wore a leather jacket but no ancestral armor to speak of. Good thing, too. If somebody tried to copy the breastplate and the other components, the lawsuits would be cosmic.

“Okay, I do *not* talk like that, *nobody* talks like that!” Real Jaune complained.

The mimic jogged over to the scene of the Dust exchange, holding his fists up and warning the thugs to let go of their wounded client.

“We’ll get even more from the don when we bring him YOUR head along with this schlub, what do you think about that?” The goon leader taunted drawing his pistol, whistling his other toadies to surround the mimic.

_Click-click!_

“Whoa, hey guys…I’m not the real Jaune Arc.” He said, his bravado dropping and his hands raised.

“Not anymore, you’re not!” He said, ready to fire his pistol.

Real Jaune drew Crocea’s shield, leaping off the edge and opening the hard-light Dust wings. He floated for a bit then fell in by drop-kicking the lead thug’s skull. The others were shocked, drawing their pistols while cosplay Jaune disarmed one of them and tossed his piece at another’s head.

“I’ve got them, go!” Jaune ordered.

“And miss a chance to team up with the real you? No way!”

“Fine.” Jaune said with an eyeroll. “But stay behind me.” He said, bringing down the hammer with Crocea across another thug’s Adam’s apple.

The OG slid down, fisting a goon in the ballsack and breaking another one’s jaw with his shield. The double, meanwhile, had jumped from a catwalk, driving his elbow into one of the goons’ lungs knocking the wind out of him. Real Jaune was surprised, but then deflected a fire bomb tossed his way, the flames singing Crocea’s hard-light wings and being charged by a shotgunner. He tripped the idiot with a shotgun, knocking him out with a kick to the head.

Cosplayer Jaune took the memo and tried aiming a trash lid at a rifleman on one of the stairs. He missed, but narrowly avoided the hail of gunfire. Rolling underneath the shooter, he wrestled with him in a tug-o-war with his rifle. But then got the last laugh by yanking his rifle, slapping the pistol out of his hands and roaring with stomping on his knee, grabbing his wrists the whole time. The rifleman’s yelp echoed throughout the site, with two running off, another being greeted with original Jaune’s fist.

“You’re really good at this!” The OG called out, shielding him from another burst.

“I’m a black belt.” The doppelganger explained. “I train kids in foster care, and a lot of them are fans of you and Team RWBY. Thought I’d try to get out and inspire them, you know?”

“Yeah, but- -“ OG ducked from a stray round. “Yeah, but that can paint a target on your back. And I’ve got a lot of targets on my back just from being me.” He said.

The leader got back up, spitting out some chipped teeth and growling. More goons emerged from the portable building, armed with planks and whatever other melee options they could get their mitts on.

“Get them, you numbskulls!” The leader ordered, tossing a grenade their way.

The two Jaunes yelped, diving out of the way from the blast, narrowly avoiding the shrapnel. Jaune charged the leader again, giving a battlecry which was quickly interrupted by getting mace to the face from him. The black belt dive kicked the leader, whooping martial arts noises and kicking the grenade belt off of him like a Mistrali flick. 

While the leader was stunned, fake Jaune caught him in a chokehold and threw his maced original a bone.

“I’ve got him! Can you see?” The wannabe spoke.

“Not yet, leave the shooters to me!” Jaune said.

“Yeah, got it!” He said, knocking out the leader.

The knight got up, blinking through his maced vision and punching out several more thugs based on his hearing and smell. The fight went on and on with Jaune knocked back, sliding across the ground by a dump truck.

“Jaune!” The double cried out.

“I’m fine!” He said, regaining his vision and Aura from the lorry’s kiss of near-death.

The fight went on some more, with the two of them being caught in a box formation by the thugs ready to finish them both off. Until police sirens were heard with Knights dropping in and stunning several thugs. Cars arrived on scene with soldiers coming out to fight and bust some skulls.

“Argus PD, don’t move!” One soldier shouted.

“On your knees, hands behind your backs!” Another barked, pointing at them.

The perps surrendered immediately, with Jaune being helped up. Fake Jaune was nearly cuffed, but the real one stood in the way.

“He’s with me.” He said, leading him away while the arrests were being made.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

The faker’s name turned out to be Roger Waverly, explaining to his walking cosplay reference that he was in fact, dressing up as Jaune to inspire the foster kids he was training to show how they could be like a Huntsmen if they really wanted.

“Man. I’ve never been so scared in my life.” Roger said, stretching while Jaune dabbed his eyes. “How do you do it?” He asked.

“One claw mark or bruise at a time.” Jaune wisecracked before speaking seriously. “Listen, Roger. Your heart’s in the right place, but if you keep this up, you could get hurt.” He scolded.

“Yeah, you definitely opened that up.” He said, still processing the adrenaline. “Don’t worry, I’m hanging up the costume. Imitation Jaune no more.”

“You don’t need a flashy outfit or multi-stage weapon to make a difference.” He coaxed.

“That’s a great line, mind if I use that for my dojo?” Roger asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Jaune said with a nod. “But if you wanna help out, you could refer your students to Sanctum if any wanna take up the reigns.”

Roger agreed, accepting an autograph from Jaune and heading home to cope with the circumstances he just went through. Meanwhile, the knight needed a shower and lunch, badly. Maybe he would take up Blake’s houseboat offer once he made enough Lien.


	3. Sortez de la lumière, entrez dans la nuit

Having just filed a witness report to the cops, giving his parents a video call and accepting Professor Czerwony’s apology for dragging him into the committee’s fat-trimming, Jaune finally headed home after a long and grueling day regarding most everything.

Things were *mostly* looking up thanks to the chance for family to visit. Maybe meeting his parents was just what he needed right now, along with playing with Adrian and dare he say it, letting Saphron be a grabby big sister.

The paladin walked through his apartment complex, turning the key to- -What the hell?

The lock didn’t budge. Jaune checked the hallway, as he had this floor all to himself. Taking the plunge, he elbowed the door open with his biggest fear of the week coming to light. His apartment was empty. 

Apart from the fridge, stove and oven, all of his stuff was placed in bags and ready to be shipped off. He banged his head against the fridge, shaking it.

“Come on…” He groaned.

All the recent missions made his last-ditch payment for his rent null and void. First-rate Huntsmen being a fourth-rate apartment owner.

Having composed himself, Jaune ran outside. Even if he lost his household crap, he had to get his sword back. Even that was removed from his scabbard case, which was currently collecting cobwebs.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Turns out that going dumpster diving would be the least egregious part of Jaune’s crappy day. He dialed the sanitation department, opening up the bin to see where the pointy half of Crocea would have ended up.

“ **Hightower Sanitation, this is Jamie.** ” The dispatcher greeted, in desperate need of coffee.

“Hi, sorry to bother you.” Jaune began. “Er, some stuff I had was accidentally picked up from a dumpster before I could bring it to- -“

“ **Dumpster number?** ” Jamie asked, not wanting to kill customer satisfaction for judging him having been through enough earlier.

Jaune paused, amping up his arms with Aura.

“Yeah, hang on.” He said, rushing behind the bin and pushing it out revealing the ident number. “Uh, two three seven five nine.” He answered, pushing it back into place while holstering the shield and running to summon another auto-car.

“ **That’s route eleven. Truck’s already taken off. If your stuff’s not there, you’re gonna have to file a lost and found request with the office.** ”

“Wait, wait! Please.” Jaune begged. “This is important, I know I sound like an idiot right now, but I really gotta find my crap. Could you look it up?”

“ **Ahhh, let’s see…** ” Jamie sighed, inputting the whereabouts into his system. “ **Okay. By now, it should be at the municipal garage at Sunburst and Grande.** ”

Jaune looked up a scan of the Sunburst and Grande neighborhood with his Huntsman app, inputting the coordinates to the location and nodding.

“Got it. Thanks, Jamie!” He said before hanging up.

“HUNTSMAN ACCESS ACCEPTED.” The car’s system beeped, speeding over to the first area where the knight must pull his sword.

“There’s no way in Hell I’m losing my sword.” Jaune assured himself. “Even if I’m clinging to tradition, I can’t just go to dinner with mom and dad without it. I used it to fight Salem, and I’ll be damned if I lose my gramps’ blade.” He monologued, hoping to make it one more silver lining from today’s shitstorm.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Two B&E’s in one day. Oh yes, how very tragic that someone would have the nerve to steal trash.

Jaune gave a quick growl, finding diddly-squat in the truck. To no one’s surprise, the garage door was locked. Unsheathing the shield, Jaune slammed the emergency exit open, making a beeline back for the auto-car and calling back Hightower for more dumpster diving points of interest.

“Yep, time to panic.” He said with a fake smile and slamming the car door shut.

“ **Hightower Sanitation, this is Jamie.** ” He said more alive as he could be for the graveyard shift.

“Hey again. Sorry, but is there any chance the truck on route eleven took a different path?” Jaune asked.

“ **Sure. Usually it takes a stroll into the Night Market at Mistraltown.** ” Jamie said, stifling a yawn.

“Great! I’m headed there now.” Jaune said, punching in the coordinates, speeding there faster than an attack move command in one of Team SSSN’s LAN parties.

“ **Hey, kind of a long shot but you might wanna check a pizza joint on your way there. The guys prefer to stop by there for a break.** ” Jamie suggested.

“Okay.” Jaune said, typing in a list of said joints in and around the neighborhood. “Any idea which one?” He asked.

“ **One of the buffets, usually.** ” Jamie answered.

“Jareth’s?”

“ **No. That’s over at the garrison.** ”

“I mean original Jareth’s.” Jaune clarified, remembering the original franchise location as one of Saphron’s favorite birthday outings.

“ **Oh, right. No, that one’s right at the wall, past border customs. it’s one of the fancier joints. Starts with ‘G’.** ”

“Georgette’s?”

“ **That’s in the financial district.** ”

“Uhh, Giuseppe’s?”

“ **Oh, yeah-yeah. That might be it! I love Giuseppe’s.** ” Jamie said, smiling nostalgically in his cubicle.

“I’ll buy you a pie for this one.” Jaune said, locking onto the joint with the car’s GPS.

“ **No need, pal. Hope you find what you’re looking for.** ”

“Knock on wood. Thanks, Jamie!” He said, hanging up and speeding on over.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Nope, close but no sword in the stone.” Jaune grumbled, walking past one of the drivers enjoying a slice who barely had time to ask why a Huntsman was so curious about one man’s trash.

He rushed over to another truck just up the street, swearing his current net worth went towards ride-share spending at this point with no home and no weapon to speak of. Also no dice, but somehow the smell of used diapers made the concerns of the rest of Jaune’s life so minuscule in comparison.

Crossing his arms in the car, the sanitation department dialed back before he could answer.

“ **Not there either, huh?** ” Jamie asked.

 _Help me, Jamie from Hightower Sanitation. You’re my only hope._ Jaune thought, doing his best Princess Leah impersonation. “You’re positive it wasn’t here?” He asked out loud.

“ **Well, chances are the guys switched their route for the upcoming Memento Day service throughout town. If you’re looking for another truck, try route 13 at Marin, over by Armistice Hill. Good luck.** ”

The car was already en route. Jaune would have to pay the rideshare service later, nervously grasping his shield in the hopes that he wasn’t too late to grab Crocea’s better half from the incinerator.

No way he was gonna risk dishonoring his family before dinner by letting that sword out to be melted like the common rabble’s filth. He was a Huntsman, damn it. That sword was his birthright. He owed it that much to his parents, especially his hands-off kinda father who he was never that close with to preserve such an heirloom.

Already had he felt he besmirched his family name by forging his transcripts and fibbing his way into Beacon. That was long ago, but he still felt haunted in some ways by trying to pass off as the hip and cool rookie when he was young and impressionable.

Had it not been for Pyrrha or any of his other friends who became his second family, Crocea would not be the weapon it is today. Before he knew it, he was already at the incinerator, rushing in only to see more trouble.

“Perfect.” Jaune whined, drawing his shield and witnessing more thugs attacking a lone garbage driver. “Hey!” He called out, charging and greeting the three of them with a shield bash.

One of the crooks grabbed a crowbar, blocking one of Jaune’s punches. He growled at the pain his fingers felt, snapping the bar in half with Crocea and about to knock this fool out. Only to be rodeoed by one of his bangers who Jaune spun around, kicking the third one away.

“Get off me!” Jaune yelled, backing up and tripping like clumsy ox, having his rider call out with the crowbar nearly being jammed where the sun don’t shine.

“FUCK! Right in my dick!” The hostile cried out, grasping his jewels and running towards the garbage driver. But he grabbed a lid, shielding himself and hitting Dickless across the head with it. The adrenaline proved too much for Dickless, making him collapse on the ground.

The driver looked up, helping Jaune by taking one of the thugs and slamming his head against the windows to the garage door. While Headcase was dazed, Jaune knocked him out with a blow to the back of his, uh, head. Number three dropped to the floor kneeling, holding his hands up and tossing his handgun away.

“Aw, gods. Just get me to the cops already!” Number three bitched.

Taking a deep breath to catch his Aura, Jaune opened his eyes looking to the driver who opened the garage up. He gave a quick sigh of relief.

“Thanks, Huntsman.” He said.

“You okay?” Jaune asked.

“Yeah. Those bangers have been terrorizing the neighborhood for a while now, and sanitation workers seem to be high on their list.” The driver explained.

“I’m in the touch with Commander Steinbeck at the Garrison, so I’ll request some patrols.”

Reminding the driver to buy a pie for Jamie, Jaune opened up the truck, having his hopes restored with finding Crocea Mors intact. The scabbard was caked in soda stains and banana peels, but he smiled to see the actual sword not having a scratch on it.

 _Oh you sexy thing, you._ He thought, grinning and glancing at his reflection in the sword’s sheen.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

And on that bombshell, now all Jaune needed was a place to crash.

Not like he could commandeer a room at Sanctum. He’d look super out-of-place at the Garrison. Sleeping outside would probably make him look like a tricked-out hobo who could probably use his shield to sleep on spikes used to scare away the homeless.

Munching on his patty melt at the local Beetroot’s restaurant, Jaune had to think of someplace fast. Probably couldn’t afford a hotel right now, seeing as how he just might have set off a red flag to his bank with all the rideshare money he was blowing earlier.

Memento Day was coming up, and boy was that one of Jaune’s least favorite “holidays.” Was actually the anniversary to the Fall of Beacon, something he would rather be sleeping off with a few tankards of ale and some catching up talk with the Nikos family. For once though, he hated to spend it all by himself.

He was supposed to be happy with his parents coming to visit. Why wasn’t he?

Okay, _besides_ getting evicted and laid off from Sanctum, Jaune had to look on the bright side. He helped inspire some brave idiot with feet smaller than Saphron’s who was kind enough to cosplay as him and put a smile on some kid’s faces. That was still some kindness he witnessed and even learn from today’s events for Ozma’s sake.

Saphron…No. Jaune wouldn’t dare put Saph and Terra on the spot asking for a place to stay.

Squeezing a couple of fries between his teeth after swallowing a particularly frosty gulp from his milkshake, the flaky and salty aftertaste mixed in perfectly with the smoothie-like texture of his drink. A welcome distraction, considering that Jaune was probably gonna be lectured by his dad with how much the sole Arc boy hated asking for help.

Finishing his meal and leaving behind a Lien stack, Jaune got up shaking off his food coma for now. 

He stood at the trolley spot, hopping on and sitting down with enjoying the sights of the city. He forgot how quiet Argus could get some nights, but mostly he forgot how much fun he had here growing up. Still, it was strange to think how Jaune was living here so quickly after bringing peace to Remnant. 

The manor was burned down in Salem’s last-ditch effort to consume Remnant with Grimm, but it was collecting dust anyway with Oliver and Daisy having just moved out in the early evacuation.

Checking his Scroll, the light glowed warmly against his face in the cool Autumn air. His jacket was enough help him withstand the “brr months” which his grandfather described when he was a tyke. 2 missed calls from Saphron, who could’ve guessed. But wait, usually at these hours it was Terra using her wife’s Scroll. Saph was an early sleeper, and Terra was a night owl given her technician work.

 _Screw it._ Jaune thought, dialing the Cotta-Arc home. Nearly falling asleep, Jaune was finally greeted with Terra who was more awake than per usual.

“ **Hey, big brother.** ” Terra joked, being only a year younger than Jaune.

“H-Hi, Terra.” He stammered. “I’ve had a long day, so I just couldn’t get back to you earlier.”

“ **You sound like hell. Wanna talk about it?** ” Terra asked.

Jaune sighed.

“I’ve been laid off at the Academy after kicking the Lancer’s nest with the grant committee. All because the director was being a dick towards Sandy.” He grumbled.

“ **Oh, Jaune. I’m sorry.** ” Terra said with a frown.

“But wait, it gets worse. My apartment got the eviction notice stamp.” He explained.

“ **What?!** ” Terra exclaimed, making Jaune flinch and somehow not waking up her family. “ **Tell me you have a place to stay tonight.** ” She said.

Even though the facetime option wasn’t active, Jaune shook his head.

“ **Jaune?** ”

But his silence was more than enough.

“I know I suck at asking this…But I was hoping I could stay with you guys for a while.” He finally said.

“ **You know you’re always welcome on our couch.** ” She answered. “ **You let me do the talking in explaining to Saph what happened.** ”

“Thanks, Terra.” Jaune said, finally cracking a smile. “Oh, before I forget, think you could help me pay off some rideshare fees?” He nervously asked.

“ **Uh, sure.** ”

Having hung up, Jaune held his head back and looked out to the ocean. Every time he took the trolley over to his sister’s house, it was a time to help cope with recent events, whatever the time frame was.

It was also a big help with the visit coming up. If it were a simple dinner with the parents, Jaune could forget his troubles. But then there was the possibility of Oliver getting all suspicious asking about Jaune’s current workload at the Academy. Something that Daisy would have to shut him up about playing the doting housewife card.

This was a welcome sight during the Salem war, reuniting with Team RWBY after they escaped Brunswick Farms, introducing them to Saph and Terra. This was an even more inviting sight with getting to see all the places Jaune explored as a kid. It’s funny. Jaune lived in Argus for nearly a decade. He was in his late 20’s and an eligible bachelor for any Huntress who wanted to settle down.

Where was he going as a veteran Huntsman and to what end? He was a total laggard on paying his rent and couldn’t even keep his temper in check with one of his employers outside of hunting work being picked on. He was bunking in his sister’s home, with the guest bedroom being saved for their parents while he slept on a frigging couch like some stoner roommate.

The woman of the house was just outside on the porch checking her Scroll. Jaune rung the bell on the tram, hopping off and walking up to his sister-in-law in desperate need of sleep.  
Terra said nothing, planting her Scroll on the guardrails and silently greeting Jaune with a hug. He sighed again, returning it to his in-law.

No words were necessary. Just finally getting some sleep was all that needed to be said.

She led him into the living room of their two-story home, with a blanket and pillow prepared for him in advance. Jaune took off his kit, setting it next to the couch and falling asleep soon as his head hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, we're done with the Spider-Man PS4 reference. Next chapter, the family drama begins.


	4. Samedi Paresseux

Daybreak had hit Argus. Jaune slowly opened his eyes, seeing Terra on her laptop over in the kitchenette filing reports for her bosses. On the coffee table laid a stack of Lien for him.

“I’m your sister-in-law, not your landlord.” Terra argued before he could object. “You’re going to take that Lien, or I’m not feeding you.” She said in a half-joking threat.

Jaune to the envelope and replied with a simple “thanks” nodding while holding up the cards. 

“I swear, you Arcs are so proud you would shoot yourselves in the foot instead of asking how to aim a pistol.” Terra exclaimed.

“Uh-huh.” Jaune replied having no proper response.

Walking over into the kitchenette to fill himself a cup of water, Jaune noticed the Arc-Cotta home having expanded since he last visited during the war. Underneath the staircase was now a walk-in bedroom for Adrian, and another living room just for guests.

Jaune wondered just how much he could’ve had his home life more together were he a civilian. He had a pretty decent apartment before he got evicted. But to what extent did some of his siblings get off easy. Sure, he had no control over what career paths his siblings took. His parents wouldn’t let him hear the end of it how he had been a controlling brother. 

Gods, it was a good thing Oliver wasn’t here right now. Being the only boy in the family meant that he was equally pampered as he was picked on. Which didn’t give Jaune a lot of room for debate on where he stood. It wasn’t so much that he was used to getting decisions made for him. Not really.

More that given how “average” he was amidst his kin, he had to bite the bullet for how many times he made himself look like a goof in the past. Even to this day, Jaune still felt remorse for a lot of his goofs and mistakes.

The “Arc Pride.” Pfft, more like Arc stubbornness. For all his humility, Jaune was still as stubborn as the day he became head of Team JNPR.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

He finished his water and made a note on his Scroll to file the Lien provided to him in a safe location.

“Is Saph here?” Jaune finally asked.

Terra nodded.

“Yep.” She answered. “She and Adrian are out gardening, why don’t you go and take your little nephew out to breakfast while me and the wife talk about dinner plans?” She suggested.  
Jaune smiled.

“Why not. I haven’t had a chance to do uncle stuff lately.” He admitted.

“I think Parsley still owes you one for taking care of Clementine when she fought off the racoon.” She mused about one of the Arc sisters and her kid.

Jaune appeared offended.

“Excuse you, Terra. But that was after Clem discovered her Semblance.” He insisted.

Terra shrugged.

“Yeah, right.” The technician snarked. “Go get changed, you.” She said. 

Jaune followed his in-law’s suggestion, heading upstairs to the guest bedroom, where the parents would inevitably sleep while they stayed while Jaune was…Couch-bound. Ugh. That just sounded lame. Why couldn’t Jaune get it out of his head that he was bunking in the living room for a while?

 _For the love of Ozma, it’s only temporary._ He had to remind himself. Hell, he'd share the couch with his old man when he was twelve and the master bedroom was being remodeled. Was it really that bad? He was just crashing on the sofa for a little while, suck it up. He could explain it in due time, he just had to figure out when and where to tell them.

At the golf course? No fecking way. Oliver took golf seriously.

At the morning tea- -That's even worse. Daisy always valued tea time ever since retiring due to her bum leg. Like he had the heart for that.

But that seemed to be Jaune's greatest asset, and greatest flaw. He had a heart of gold, one that was easily exploited. Not just by villains, but by people he trusted who expected promises to be fulfilled.  
He made his way to the guest bedroom, changing into some fresh clothing for the Autumn breeze that made Argus a reminder that, yeah this was Atlas territory, not some post-modern Mistral city-state.

But there was something unique to Argus in the Fall that made it more homely rather than kicking in doors in a house in Mantle or Atlas just to warm up. Shuddering at the thought of his breastplate leaving an icy burn mark on his chest from a Bullhead, Jaune slipped on a yellow shirt with the brown Haven Academy logo.

“Hey, uncle.” Adrian Cotta-Arc said, peaking inside.

Jaune turned around, seeing his nephew in a tracksuit for the cold.

“Hey, bud.” Jaune said, ruffling his hair underneath his ski cap. “How have you guys been lately?” He then asked.

“Good.” Adrian answered. “Mom One told me you were staying for a while.” He pointed out, repeating what Terra said to him.

Jaune nodded.

“Yep, kind of a long story.” He said. “You wanna go get breakfast at Lenny's?” He suggested, making Adrian grin.

“Sure.” He said. “You might wanna talk to Mom Two about payment, though.”

“No problem.” Jaune reassured his nephew. “Let's go see her about it.”

Adrian took his uncle's hand, leading him downstairs where he was immediately being greeted by one of Saphron’s concerned hugs.

“It's okay, little brother.” She cooed, embracing Jaune. “You don't have to be sorry about staying with us here.”

Jaune awkwardly returned the hug, running his hands through her hair.

“Saph, I'm fine.” He said. “We'll figure it out, but for now let's not worry so much.” He insisted, breaking the hug and smiling at Saphron.

“Is uncle Jaune okay, Mom?” Adrian asked her.

Saphron frowned at her son, shaking her head. “He'll be fine, honey.” She replied. “Your uncle, he…” She paused.

Terra spoke in her place, giving her wife a kiss on the scalp gesturing her to have a seat. “Jaune was evicted.” She said upfront.

Adrian gasped.

“Oh, snap! I'm sorry, uncle.” The boy exclaimed.

Jaune sighed, patting his nephew's head again.

“It'll work out, pal.” He said, smiling.

But he knew his folks were right. He couldn’t stay on his sister's couch forever, so any loans and mission board bounties were his only hope.

Asking his parents for a loan was probably off the books, given how well that worked out last time since they had to trade with rebuilding the Arc manor.

Okay, now Jaune wasn’t having a very good time with having to tell his parents about his um…Him being in between homes. But he was gonna make today the best that he could by spending the day with his nephew to just have fun and unwind.

“Y’know Saph,” Jaune began. “I haven’t caught up with Adrian in a while. Why don't I take him out to breakfast while you and Terra talk about what to say to grandma and grandpa?” He suggested.

Saphron pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. “Yeah, okay.” She answered. “Go ahead, Adrian. Your mother and I just need to talk for a bit about the dinner.” She then instructed.

“Sure, Mom Two.” He said, making Saphron chuckle at the nickname.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

For the most part, the walk to Lenny's was silent. Jaune wasn't in a bad mood, far from it. He was a lot happier to be a cool uncle for the day to distract from all the financial and homeowner BS.

His nieces and nephews (well, the ones who could walk, talk and were toilet-trained anyway) liked him well enough. But Adrian was the oldest at 11, which made it seem like a bit of favoritism.  
His brothers-in-law were a help with adjusting, too. But with being the only blood uncle? Brought him back to when he was an idealistic, hopeful kid full of dreams.

Adrian, Aurelia, Clementine, Mellyn, Xanthias and Flavian were a bunch of characters for their respective ages. Which suited Jaune just fine since he used to be as nutty as a fruitcake like some of them.  
His equally nutty classmates were a big help in adjusting to being an uncle of more than one kid. Surprisingly enough.

Also helped that his friends in RWBY, Nora and Ren, and Team SSSN were having families, besides Ruby and Yang who were comfortable being aunties to their friends' kids.

“So uh, how's school going?” He asked the boy to change the subject.

“P.E. isn't going so well.” Adrian answered.

Jaune frowned, tilting his head to ask what was going wrong. “Dodgeball?” He joked. Made Adrian laugh.

“No. I'm having trouble keeping up with the PACER test.”

Jaune blinked, remembering how he taught some Sanctum kids at the dreaded PACER. With its bleeps, bloops and monotone announcer.

“Oh, that?” He said with a hand wave. “That's easy, dude.” The paladin stated.

“For you, maybe.” Adrian grumbled.

“No, really.” Jaune told him. “The key to that test? You gotta breathe in and out. Before and after each test.” He spoke.

Adrian looked up.

“See, the key to running is to breathe slowly. It's not easy, but you gotta focus on slowing your breaths at an even pace even if you're running like heck.” He told him.

“Is that why it's called the PACER?” Adrian inquired.

Jaune chuckled. “Nope. It's meant to do just what it says, pace your stats on aerobics and build up your heart and strengthen your running.” He said.

“Oh.” Adrian replied, giving one of his ‘big thonk' faces and doing the mathematics.

Literary stuff was more the boy’s cup of tea. He wasn't soft as a mushy banana, in fact he was pretty bulky for a kid of his short stature. It was just that he hadn't taken enough time to develop it. Hence why Phys Ed was a struggle sometimes.

“Would you be up for some training sometime?” Jaune inquired.

Adrian politely shook his head with a shrug.

“I've got Aunt Tawny training me, but I wouldn’t mind training with you, uncle.” He said.

Jaune grinned.

“Attaboy! Let's get some grub.” He said proudly.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Stepping inside the closest Lenny's, the place was eerily quiet as on an early Argus Saturday there were primarily old couples with families of young children clearing out. Amidst them were municipal workers, soldiers, military police and even some off-duty Huntsmen enjoying their chilly morning. Jaune took the nearest booth on the far left, sitting with Adrian right next to him. A waitress dashed up for them, notepad at the ready.

“Thanks for stopping by at Lenny’s, what can I get for ya on drinks?” She asked.

“Coffee, black.” Jaune answered.

“Yes sir. And you, sweetie?” She asked Adrian.

“Uh, just water.” He said cutely.

When the options for food came up, Adrian picked out hash brown pancakes with bacon. Jaune picked out a chicken-fried steak with gravy and a side of biscuits, both digging in. You could tell that the food was good with everyone at the table being silent while eating. Third of a way into his steak, Jaune was met with Adrian asking: “So why were you evicted?”

He sighed, sniffing his coffee to clear the air on his nephew’s innocence in the question.

“Well, due to all the Huntsman stuff I was up to, I just plain forgot to pay my bills.” Jaune explained.  
Adrian cocked an eyebrow. “You couldn’t pay them before?” He interrogated.

Jaune rolled his eyes, understandably aware of getting lectured by a little kid. “Yeah, but I was so caught up in missions with Team RWBY that it slipped my mind.” He groaned. “Plus, I was dealing with the fact that I lost my job at Sanctum.”

“So you’re not working there again?” Adrian continued.

“Not right now.” Jaune answered. “I kinda made a jerk out of myself in front of what’s called a grant committee. They provide money for Huntsmen like me to work there.” He said, grabbing a salt and pepper shaker to explain it better.

Adrian munched at another piece of bacon, deciding to humor his uncle with the childish visuals.

“Picture the pepper as Sanctum, it’s a bit spicy, got a bit more attitude than Atlas Academy since it’s technically Mistral’s school. It’s a combat school but still trains people to go to an Academy and become as spicy when hunting Grimm.” Jaune began, with Adrian nodding.

“Now here’s the grant committee.” He said, holding up the salt shaker. “They’re a bunch of mean old suits who work for the government and let money come and go whenever they feel like it, or whenever the schools they give money to make them mad.” It took both of them some effort not to make a salty joke.

“See, the grant committee is really uptight and have sticks up their butts about clients and employees for whatever business they’re funding. Like Sanctum.” Jaune continued. “But Sanctum really needs the money since they can only be funded so much by the government.”

“Then what made the committee angry yesterday?” The boy asked.

Jaune winced, setting both shakers down and tenting his fingers.

“They were barking at Sanctum’s headmistress, which I didn’t take well.” He solemnly answered. “So like a dummy, I was standing up to a bully for picking on someone beneath them.” He said, making Adrian drop his fork on the table.

The boy’s face shifted from shock, to slight anger.

“Well, that’s not fair!” Adrian whined, mindful of his indoor voice. “They were picking on her! Why would they do that?!”

Jaune lowered his head from the diners. “Because it’s business, Adrian.” He whispered.

The boy squinted with a huff. “It’s really dumb business if they can just pick on the Headmistress.” He protested.

Jaune nodded cupping his jaw in his hand with how much he really asked for trouble yesterday. What was he gonna tell his folks?

 _Dear mom and dad, I’m doing fine. Eviction and getting let off is on my mind._ The reciting from one of Adrian’s cartoons just made things sound worse. 

Sighing, he finished his coffee playing with his steak using the fork. “My bad, kiddo.” He sighed to his nephew.

“It’s okay, uncle!” He reassured him, taking his hand. “You’re not feeling well, and you need a place to stay. We’ve got your back.” Adrian concluded with a smile.

Jaune sighed again, this time with some youthful reassurance to back him up. “Thanks, Adrian.” He said. “I’m just a little frustrated right now. Being an adult sucks sometimes, you know?” He rambled.

“I guess.” Adrian said. “Doesn’t change how easier you get off than kids.” He then mused. Jaune chuckled, digging back into his steak while Adrian finished the hash pancakes.

“So what will you tell grandma and grandpa?” The younger boy then asked.

“I’m hoping to tell grandpa. He gives better advice on financial stuff.” Jaune answered.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

The door to the Arc-Cotta home was opened back up with Adrian walking in first. Saphron was on the kitchen island, reading and scrolling on Terra’s computer.

“We’re back, Mom Two.” Adrian announced.

“Hi, sweetie. Did you and your uncle have fun?” She asked.

Adrian nodded. “Uh-huh.” He beamed. “I’m gonna go play some Marian Kart.” He then told her, being halted.

“Not so fast.” Saphron said in a stern tone. “Have you done your homework last night?” She interrogated.

“Yes ma’am.” Adrian answered, running to his staircase bedroom and then to the kitchenette, handing it to his mother. Saphron read over the papers, giving Adrian a thumbs up and setting it to the homework tray in a drawer with Terra’s usual work spot.

“Go ahead, honey.” She said. “I need to talk to your uncle for a bit.”

“Okay.” He said, starting up the game console over in the living room.

Jaune walked over to his sister, with her gesturing to the laptop. He raised an eyebrow, looking at apartment options. One of the three-star places in the city, but cheaper enough for him with hopefully a lot less stringent landlords.

“Can’t just leave my economics degree in the dust with finding you a cheaper place to live.” She told him.

“Guess not.” Jaune replied. “Shouldn’t we be checking AFTER dinner, though?” He said.

“Just opening this up for later.” Saphron answered, bookmarking the page. “Don’t wanna make dad suspicious about you staying here for too long.”

“Right.” He said with an eyeroll. “Any idea what to tell him yet?”

Saphron shrugged.

“Terr and I are still figuring that out. For now, you should just relax today and hang with Adrian. Could say it’s big sister’s orders.” She joked.

Jaune liked the idea but finding himself frowning.

“Listen, Saph. About what dad’s gonna say…” He tried to spell out.

“Jaune, please. You let me and Terra handle it, and then you can explain the rest. Mom will no doubt side with you, but let’s not worry about that today.” She ranted.

“Ah- -Okay.” He relented.

On his sister’s suggestion, Jaune would let them form the initial script for what to confess to the Arc parents. It made him feel like crap, but he was used to having Saphron speak on his behalf by now. Sitting with Adrian and letting the wives brainstorm for the day, Jaune sat with his nephew playing video games, organizing his comic books and giving a hand with homework.

The only thing now was to prep for dinner tomorrow evening.

Gulp.


	5. Bon Appétit - Partie Un

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two-parter for this chapter, folks. Really fecking busy and won't have time to make it a whole one. With that being said, enjoy.

Most of Jaune’s Sunday was spent asking around for Huntsman bounties. A simple task on paper. Well, on holographic boards. It was the future, nobody used paper anymore, right?

At least, that’s what he attempted to joke about before had had to file reports to the cops with all his action on Friday. Glynda put in a good word for him, simply letting them know that as a certified Huntsman he had been acting on Sanctum faculty’s authority.

Czerwony could’ve done that, something she easily groused to the superior Headmistress about. Glynda on the other hand was looking into sending a financial care package and sue the grant committee for infringing on duties for training Atlas and Mistral students. Gods know that the Nikos family wouldn’t have sufficed to see this kinda action.

Adjusting his flannel jacket in the present, Jaune checked in the mirror for one more sweep on how his hairdo was set up for dinner which was right around the corner. Currently, he was also fitting Adrian in his semi-formal outfit for the visit.

“They’re gonna love the bowtie, dude.” He told his nephew.

“You think so?” Adrian asked, his business casual wear being adjusted in his little hands.  
Jaune grinned.

“Course they will. Now quit hogging the mirror.” He said, with Adrian jumping off of the footstool.

The paladin looked in the bathroom mirror, seeing different options for a haircut in the holo-display. The SmartHaus account credentials were all tied to the Arc family, so they could access it all in different homes throughout Remnant.

 **Side-shave** , no. Neptune pulled it off much better than him.

 **Bald badass**? Too “skinhead.”

 **Annointed in Argus**? Well, it had a warrior wolf-tail. Something he bookmarked.

It was funny to think about, with how lucky his sisters got off with Terra working for the military. If Weiss’ words were anything to go off of, it paid to be working as a civ for the AMF.

Further lost in his train of thought, Jaune stood in the bathroom by himself while Adrian scurried off to assist his moms with setting up the table. He had the time, choosing to scroll through a family photo folder on the mirror looking at childhood stuff.

The first one he landed at was a 9-year-old Saphron in overalls, an orange skirt holding baby Jaune up by the arms who was learning how to walk. Something she insisted on (mostly via arguments with their parents). Beacon’s knight frowned. 

It was a fond memory for as much as Saph teased him, she still took turns with the older sisters raising Jaune properly when Daisy and Oliver were busy. He was lucky to even have Saph bailing him out of being homeless, but he couldn’t rely on her forever. He was a grown-ass man who saved the world, why was he even asking for such a favor? He could’ve handled it himself, but he was off busy playing the hero.

Jaune sighed. The very idea of asking a favor from her kept him up at night. First, it was hanging at her home during the Salem Crisis, then it was getting evicted.  
And now, he would have to spill it to his parents at some point when they were staying in Argus for the week. Why was he so haunted by the idea of this? Jaune…

_Jaune._

“Jaune.”

“Gah! What?!” He yelped, seeing Saphron in one of her formal suits with a cardigan jacket to boot. Orange and red, respectively. She raised an eyebrow at her brother. Jaune blinked. 

A minute ago, she got into his ear to catch his attention. Something that she did often whenever his head was up in the clouds or side-to-side avoiding some bullying girl which she easily could’ve fixed by breaking her cast her followed by an angry tongue kiss.

“Me and Terra have it figured out, okay?” Said Saphron, putting a hand on her hip and swiping away the baby photo album from the bathroom mirror. “We’re enjoying dinner tonight and that’s final.”  
Jaune rolled his eyes.

“Yes, ma’am.” He pouted.

Saphron shook her head, wishing that her brother’s pride wasn’t such an obstacle for this family get-together. If the two siblings who were in a tank crew, Sapphire and Garnet, were here they wouldn’t let either of them hear the end of this for arguing before dinner.

\-----------------------------------------------

Saphron rushed down at the sound of the doorbell. Checking through the doorcam on SmartHaus’ security, she saw a blob of mustard yellow cloth.

“Mom, dad!” Saphron beamed opening the door.

“How ya doin’ kiddo?!” Oliver Arc roared with a hug. 

Wearing a polo shirt and golfing jeans with a corinthian belt, Oliver was a mountain of a man with a porno-stache that was graying while he only had a select few streaks on his top. Even at his age, he still looks like he could crush a lesser man than an Arc.

Setting down his daughter, Saphron made room for him to crouch underneath the door-frame. She took his coat and stepped out to greet her mother and lead her to the door.

“Hi, darling.” Daisy Arc spoke softly, grinning, and stretching her laugh-lines walking over with her crutch.

Daisy was much quieter than her husband but was the blue eyes to Oliver’s green. Something that only their daughter Ciel had inherited while the other kids had baby blue. Her blonde hair was worked into a curly bun with not a strand of grayness. She wore a sleeveless turtleneck underneath her jacket and had a bum leg from injuring herself while giving birth to her last child, which was in a cast and giving her a crutch.

“Hi, mom.” Saphron cooed. “Need a minute to sit down?” She then asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be right there honey. Could you please go get my painkillers?” Daisy requested.

Saphron nodded, walking over to the van. While the older mother sat down briefly on the steps to the home, perching her cane on the guardrail. Meanwhile, Oliver greeted Terra with another bear hug, something she couldn’t easily withstand as her wife or in-laws.

“What happened to ya, Terra. They still got you pushing too many pencils?” He joked, unaware of his daughter-in-law’s blue face.

“Ollie...Can’t...Breathe!” She choked out.

Being released, Terra coughed. She caught her glasses cleaning them and heading over to join Daisy on the porch. Immediately, the technician was asked about life at the moment.

“I sure missed you and Ollie.” She rasped. “But not his frickin’ bear hugs.” Terra then added.

Daisy laughed, with Saphron walking inside setting the pill bottle in Daisy’s hand.

“Grandpa!” Adrian exclaimed, running into Oliver’s arms.

“Well, what do you know!” The older man bellowed spinning his grandson around. “Looks like those growth spurts are working out for you, Adrian.” Oliver joked.

“They still kinda hurt. Is it normal to have regular pain in your knees?” The boy asked.

“Just be sure to stretch a lot and don’t take too many supplements.” The mountain suggested.

Adrian grinned, running over to greet Daisy.

Jaune peaked from upstairs seeing his family getting together, at which he steeled himself for heading down. But then, he hesitated. Hesitated about having to face his parents under his current situation. Hesitated about how he would word it. How he dragged the Cotta-Arcs into this whole mess, trouble following him enough as it did.

…

Was Jaune that insecure well into pushing 20?

It was always a brave face with him, a brave reassurance. No, the big meltdown wasn’t to be tonight. Not with dinner on the way. Instead, he sucked it up and headed downstairs. Daisy hobbled in on her crutch taking a moment to admire her son’s looks for tonight, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

“Jaune! So wonderful of you to be here tonight.” Daisy cooed.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, mom,” Jaune said, kissing her back on the forehead. “How’s the leg?” He then asked softly.

“I was going on a hike earlier this week with some of your math teachers,” Daisy answered. “And yes, this includes Miss Darzaran.” She then teased, making Jaune cringe.

Saphron winced at the mention, particularly at how Miss Darzaran would threaten frequent ruler lashings for algebra.

Just as Daisy was lead over to the dinner table, Oliver stood over his boy, folding his arms. Jaune gulped, expecting a lecture. Only for Oliver's old smile to break on through.

"How's it going, lad?" The Arc elder asked.

Jaune unclenched.

"Uh, it's going okay, dad." He replied.

"I'd give you one of my hugs, but I know you're not really fond of them," Oliver recalled.

"Eh." Jaune shrugged. "I'd kinda prefer to eat first. How was the trip?"

"I suplexed an Ursa. But my back was flaring up a little, and I was bedridden for the blasted weekend." Oliver answered.

Daisy shot her husband a glare at that mention.

"Of course, I...Didn't mean to startle you, darling." He anxiously admitted.

Another tense pause occurred, with Jaune heading into the kitchen to give Saphron a hand with unloading the main course. And it so happened to be Adrian's favorite: Tuna pasta casserole.


End file.
